West Island Mommies fans – we are calling on you to help out this holiday season! With an ongoing pandemic, we need your help more than ever.
We are teaming up with local food bank On Rock to help families in need in the West Island this holiday season. On Rock is a food bank located in Pierrefonds that delivers much needed food to close to 300 families every week. For Christmas they will be delivering a food basket to each of these families so that they can enjoy a traditional Christmas meal and with the food basket, they also include a box of gifts for the children under 18 in the family.
This year we will be helping to collect new toys/items/gift cards so that each of these families will have something to put under the tree for their kids. This is where you come in! Here is what they are in need of:
- Ages 1-4
- Ages 5-7
- Ages 8-10
- Ages 11-13
- Ages 14 to 20yrs old
While they are in need of gifts for all ages, the older groups are always the hardest to fill, so we want to help them in all age groups. New toys for the younger ages are great, but they are looking for gift cards to give out to the older kids as well. A suggested amount for the gift cards would be about $10 to $15 for some shopping (ie. Fairview) or perhaps to the movies, chapters, Pharmacy, Walmart, Visa, Etc. Please arrange for a drop off on these items and not to our drop off locations.
All gifts should be dropped off unwrapped, and there are various drop-off points in the West Island. We have 2 drop off locations this year. For Gift cards please contact me at westislandmommies@gmail.com
Outside Ted’s Hobby Shop
269 Boulevard St.Jean
Pointe Claire, Qc
| Monday | 7:00 AM | 9:00 PM |
| Tuesday | 7:00 AM | 9:00 PM |
| Wednesday | 7:00 AM | 9:00 PM |
| Thursday | 7:00 AM | 9:00 PM |
| Friday | 7:00 AM | 9:00 PM |
| Saturday | 7:00 AM | 6:00 PM |
| Sunday | 8:00 AM | 6:00 PM |
Plaza Pointe Claire
245 N Boulevard St. Jean
Pointe Claire,Qc
Monday to Friday- 10am to 6pm
Saturday- 9:30am to 5pm
Sunday 11am to 5pm
These baskets are being delivered to families on Dec. 18th, so the deadline to drop off your gift donation is Dec. 7th.
We know we can count on our great community to help out these families this Christmas season, so thank you in advance to all those that participate in this drive with us! We also want to thank our partners for drop-off points for this campaign – Plaza Pointe Claire, Ted’s Hobby Shop , Librairie Clio.
Well what a Halloween it was… I just felt it was so different this year with an on-going pandemic, that I just had to document it and write all about it.
The past 8 months have been nothing short of awful, stressful, emotional and so much more. The fear of the unknown has affected so many people in so many ways. With all the talk of halloween and whether we should hand out candy- go out was a no brainer to Me. As a family we decided to hand out candy or chips for us in a safe manner. Masks on and at a distance. Safety was the number one priority on everyone’s mind last night!
Yes it’s just candy.. but this yearly tradition that kids look forward to all year was upon us. Our government gave the thumbs up for trick or treaters ( even though we are in a Red Zone shutdown with no gatherings allowed etc.) One evening where kids could laugh, be silly and have fun!
Many people did not go out and made it special at home with fun activities and candy. Many kids did go out as well as hand out candy. So I turned to my friends to see how everyone was handing out candy this year from a distance. I must say I am so impressed. People wore masks and created ramps, slides, clotheslines and much more so kids could still trick or treat safely. I hope everyone had a blast in their own way. It was definitely one for the memory books!
One mom said to me while I passed a bag of chips with an extended arm- ” Thank you so much for making it special for the kids” and that is what our community did. One night of no worries and simple fun and child innocence. Well done West Island! you guys rocked it. So proud of everyone! Here are some pics of some of the creative ways people handed out candy. Now onto the next big holiday…. Christmas!!! Stay safe– wear a mask.. social distance!!!!
Relax at Home with a Mobile Massage by Montreal’s Trusted Company, Blu Wellbeing
What was the first thing you did when the kids went back to school and you had the house to yourself? We can tell you that Blu Wellbeing received several phone calls from parents who were more than ready (and overdue!) to book their ME-TIME in the comfort of their own home.
Blu Wellbeing was founded on the mission of making self-care accessible to all, no matter how hectic one’s schedule may be! Save time on the commute and hassle from driving to your massage appointment and back. Prioritizing YOU just became easier… you can even receive the service while your kids are asleep!
Blu Wellbeing continues to be Montreal West Island’s trusted mobile massage therapy service, bringing the full spa-experience to your doorstep. Catering to your very needs they offer over 7 massage therapy styles: therapeutic, deep tissue, prenatal, sports, couple’s massages, cupping massage, and lymphatic drainage!
More recently they added a new service, Activated Massage, which is a natural union of multiple disciplines in the holistic healing sphere… receive a massage AND the healing properties of crystals, aromatherapy, colour frequency and hertz sound! There are five different service types: Deep Sleep, Deep BLU, Heal, Heart Full, and Sunshine.
During these strange times taking care of your mental, emotional and physical wellbeing is even more important. How full is your cup? When was the last time you took an hour for yourself?
Blu Wellbeing is doing their part to keep their community safe by strictly following government guidelines and regulations while offering the ultimate at in-home massage experience. More details about their regulations can be found on their instagram page and website.
TO BOOK AN APPOINTMENT:
Follow their socials:
Facebook @bluwellbeing
Instagram @bluwellbeing
Due to the ongoing pandemic of Covid-19, there will be no Holiday Train this year passing through. This will be the first time in 21 years since it was started, that they will not be travelling across country at all.
Canada Pacific has released the news on their website today with a press release outlining what they will be doing instead to help the local food banks.
” Canadian Pacific (CP) will donate to food banks in communities along its network and host a virtual concert in lieu of its regular Holiday Train program. The modified program will draw attention to food security issues, while ensuring donations go to all food banks that would ordinarily receive them, including those that typically host a Holiday Train event in alternating years. Live music has always been part of the CP Holiday Train tradition. To maintain that tradition, CP will produce a benefit concert, with details to be announced when they’re available. ” ( Taken off their website)
As this year continues to pivot with many activities being cancelled, we must all work together to stay safe and follow the protocols put in place so we can kick this virus to the curb.
As soon as we know more info on the Virtual Concert, we will share it on all our social media platforms.
For more information, you can click here to visit the CP website.
Every year my family and I say, let’s go apple picking and every year we are just too busy to get out and do this fun activity. Well this year we managed to do it!
We decided to head out with another family that we have been around on and off throughout this whole pandemic. This way my daughter had a friend to be with and it made it more enjoyable.
Was I nervous about going with a full fledged pandemic going on? heck yes. Would safety protocols be put in place? Would people social distance? Mask wearing? I had a million questions. Being an outdoor activity I knew we could easily social distance and still have fun.
We decided to head out to Quinn Farm. My main concern was how many people would be in attendance. You had to pre-order your tickets online and only a limited amount of people would be allowed. When we pulled into the parking lot I saw all the cars and thought ” whoa lots of people”. I was pleasantly surprised that it was the RIGHT amount of people. Pre-pandemic the place would have have been so packed with families that anywhere you went , it was wall to wall people. Well that was not the case on this day. Sure there were lots of people, but being in such a large environment everyone was spread out and respecting social distancing . We were so impressed as it was the perfect amount of people. Everyone was wearing masks around the snack area, store and the barn of animals. You also had to wear your mask on the tractor ride which everyone was respecting.
Out in the fields you could take your mask off. The space was large enough that you were never in contact with anyone. It was so nice to be outside on such a beautiful day without a mask creating special memories with your loved ones.
The tractor rides were sprayed before people got on which I was very impressed with. Hand sanitizer stations were set up everywhere. In the snack area, before sitting at a picnic table, you had to spray your table and wipe it. The products and towels were provided for you as well as a sink area with soap and water to wash your hand properly before eating. I was really impressed with all the measures put in place and felt very safe.
All in all it was a fantastic day and we will cherish these memories with family and friends. I highly recommend getting out there and doing this family fun activity. The kids will have a blast. Mommy Approved !!
For a Full Listing of Apple orchards around Montreal, check out our list by clicking Here.
